Question

Read this article. Then write a 250 word response on two of the programs you like the most.

Open source business intelligence software

1. BIRT

BIRT is an open source BI program that CloudTweaks says is often viewed as the industry standard. BIRT boasts “over 12 million downloads and over 2.5 million developers across 157 countries.”

Its users include heavyweights such as Cisco, S1, and IBM (which is also a BIRT sponsor). They also have maturity going for them, as they’ve been around since the (second) Bush administration.

An example of a BIRT visualization (Source)

BIRT can create a range of reports, from textual documents to cross tabs to standard pie and bar graphs. Along with these BI basics, BIRT can also tackle slightly more advanced tasks, “such as grouping on sums, percentages of overall totals, and more.”

BIRT can also be embedded in a range of other applications, so it may integrate with business software you already use. BIRT report engine and charting engine integrate easily with applications and programs that use Java.

Be aware, however, that you’ll need someone who knows code to be able to really work the program. If you’re left scratching your head at terms such as “conditional formatting” or “scripted data sets,” you may be in over your head.

2. Jaspersoft Community

You’ll run into Jaspersoft pretty quickly if you search for open source BI tools. How good is Jaspersoft? Good enough that Tibco spent $185 million to acquire them in 2014.

Jaspersoft Community is the company’s free offering. Jaspersoft offers four of its programs in Community editions:

• JasperReports Server: A program for designing reports that can be embedded or used on its own.
  • JasperReports Library: A Java library that allows you to use data from any source and that exports reports in HTML, PDF, Excel, and other formats.
  • Jaspersoft ETL: A data integration engine that transforms your raw data into easily consumed information.
  • Jaspersoft Studio: A program that lets you design and customize the reports you’ll embed in JasperReports Server.

A Tibco Jaspersoft data visualizations (Source)

They have an impressive list of customers: Groupon, Time Warner Cable, the government of British Columbia, and Vanderbilt University.

Like a lot of open source programs, Jaspersoft has a developer community—an online forum for people who use and, well, develop that open source code into a fuller program.

A Jaspersoft dashboard (Source)

The upside to developer communities for any open source program is that you’ve got a potential support network, or at least people with similar concerns.

The downside is that, since developer communities are populated by users, rather than paid customer service advisers, whether you get an answer depends on whether another developer has the time, or interest, to offer a solution.

3. Knime

Knime (short for Konstanz Information Miner), a free and open source data analytics program, comes in several versions:

• Knime Analytics Platform
• Knime Cloud Analytics Platform
• Knime Server

A Knime data analysis workflow (Source)

Knime is a great choice for data scientists, or employees who do the work of data scientists (citizen data scientists, as they’re also known).

If you work with languages such as R or Python, or use predictive and machine learning algorithms, give Knime a look.

Are you familiar with multivariate statistics and data mining? If so, great! If those terms make your eyes glaze over (raises hand sheepishly), try something different.

Knime’s one of the bigger established players among open source data analytics programs, with users in more than 60 countries worldwide. It gets an 8.1/10rating from “Predictive Analytics Today” and can be used for purposes as diverse as data visualization and internet of things projects.

4. Metabase

Metabase is an open source business intelligence tool that enables you to poke around in your data and prod it until answers come out. It offers such features as a SQL-free interface (you won’t have to know how to code to use it), ad hoc queries, and data visualization.

A Metabase data visualization (Source)

Metabase offers dashboards and 11 visualizations, including pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, and maps of the world.

Worried you won’t pick the right sort of visual? If a particular visualization isn’t right for the sort of data you’re trying to visualize, Metabase will gray out that option in the drop-down menu (though you can still use it if you want to).

You can upload a variety of data formats, from MondoDB to SQL.

5. Pentaho Business Analytics

Pentaho was bought by Hitachi, and now makes up one part of Hitachi Ventara. It’s still called Pentaho, though. Though the free version of Pentaho Business Analytics is no longer offered through Hitachi’s website, you can find a free version on SourceForge.

Pentaho offers a lot of helpful BI basics such as visualizations from heat graphs and geo-mapping, as well as reporting in outputs as diverse as PDFs, Excel, HTML, and others.

It offers an Enterprise edition (for which you’ll have to buy a subscription) and a Community edition (free and open source). As with Jaspersoft, your business will need someone who knows how to code if you want to really take advantage.

A Pentaho dashboard (Source)

If you have coders on hand, Pentaho is a great choice. The customizability one gets from coding is strengthened by offerings such as Pentaho’s CTools, which are “tools and components created to help you build Custom Dashboards on top of Pentaho.”

The tools allow you to perform an impressive range of activities, such as creating more advanced dashboards or incorporating extra graphics for reports.

Like Jaspersoft, Pentaho offers community forums that allow you to discuss developments or changes you’ve made to the code, or ask questions. That said, Pentaho’s forums are less active, with most questions getting one or two responses at most.

6. Report Server Community Edition

If you’re looking to run reports, you know how to code, and you don’t want to spend any money, check out Report Server Community Edition, that vendor’s open source option.

Report Server is good for unlimited users, which is unusual among free BI software tools.

A ReportServer dashboard (Source)

A lot of free business intelligence software doesn’t offer the collaborative features that make it such a good investment, but ReportServer has collaborative Team Spaces in its free version.

As with a lot of open source software, there’s also a community forum you can check in case another user already had the same questions you have.

7. Knowage

Since the last update of this piece, SpagoBI has rebranded as Knowage. The most recent free and open source version is called Knowage Community Edition 6.1.

Examples of Knowage visualizations (Source)

Based out of Italy, Spago will give you the basics BI professionals anywhere need, such as visualizations, dashboards, reporting, and multidimensional analysis.

If you have enough data to need data mining, Spago offers that, as well.

Free business intelligence software

If you really want a sense of just how much software has changed business intelligence, consider that some of the following programs offer unlimited reports.

Thirty years ago, the amount of time, effort, and man hours that went into making a single report would have made that idea seem fanciful.

8. Dataiku DSS Free Edition

While Dataiku DSS (short for Data Science Studio) is more of a data science program than a business intelligence tool, I’m including it on this list because 1) it offers some dynamite data visualizations, and 2) it’s free.

Dataiku Free offers 26 different chart types, to be precise. Dataiku’s free edition is worth a look if your primary interest is data visualization.

A Dataiku churn prediction visualization (Source)

Dataiku Free also lets you play with machine learning algorithms, including a few of the most popular: regression, classification, and clustering. Given that you’re paying nothing, that’s pretty impressive.

Dataiku’s free version isn’t multi-user, and, given how important collaboration is to business intelligence, you’ll be missing out there. Dataiku’s Enterprise edition (for which you have to pay) does, however, allow multiple users.

9. Microsoft Power BI Desktop

Microsoft offers a stripped down, free version of their business intelligence program, Power BI Desktop. It offers up to 1 GB of data, along with the ability to transform CSV data and Excel spreadsheets into something people actually don’t mind looking at.

A Microsoft PowerBI visualization (Source)

The biggest benefit of Power BI is its accessibility. If you can use Excel, you’ll probably have an easy time with Power BI because it uses the same DAX language as Excel.

10. Qlik Sense Cloud Basic

Two great things about Qlik Sense Cloud Basic: 1) It’s cloud-based, so you can access it from anywhere, and 2) it’s free for up to five users.

That means you can collaborate with a small team, which is especially useful if you want to test before you invest. It’s that collaborative element that’s especially useful, as collaboration is one of Gartner’s Critical Capabilities that every business intelligence program should have (research available to Gartner clients).

A Qlik Sense dashboard (Source)

One useful collaborative feature is Qlik Sense Stream, which shows changes, updates, and annotations made to documents and images. It’s like having a Twitter feed for what people do in the program.

There’s also a stream for yourself, so if you get stuck in a “what-was-that-thing-I-worked-on-last-Tuesday” loop, all you have to do is scroll down.

11. QlikView Personal Edition

Qlik also offers a free, one-user version of their QlikView program.

A Qlikview dashboard (Source)

QlikView’s personal editions are best for solo use. They have the same functions as the full version and aren’t timed (as in 30-day trials).

They don’t offer the same ability to collaborate and share data you’d get with the full versions, but if you’re a solo entrepreneur or in charge of a small operation, these could still be solid options.

12. RapidMiner

RapidMiner offers free versions of all three of its products: RapidMiner Studio, RapidMiner Server, and RapidMiner Radoop.

A RapidMiner data screenshot (Source)

If you’re a small or midsize business, RapidMiner might be a good place to start.

When you download the free version of RapidMiner Studio, the first 30 days offer all of the features of Studio Large, which include unlimited rows of data, and Auto Model. After the first 30 days, you’ll be limited to 10,000 rows of data, and lose Auto Model.

If that worries you at all, assuage your fears by checking out all of RapidMiner’s other features. With RapidMiner Server, you get up to 2 GB of storage and up to 1,000 web service API calls.

Though you won’t get the same support as the paid versions, you’ll still have access to RapidMiner’s community support. The free version of RapidMiner Radoop similarly limits you to community support and supports only one user, but it still supports over 70 Hadoop operators.

13. Style Scope AE

Style Scope AE (Agile edition) is InetSoft’s free business intelligence offering. It’s primarily a data visualization program, but it also allows you to prep your data beforehand.

Style Scope AE uses a drag-and-drop interface, so even the technophobic can work it. You can upload a wide variety of data styles to AE, including (of course) Excel spreadsheets.

The visualizations you can make are gorgeous, especially for a free program.

A StyleScope visualization (Source)

Style Scope AE has beauty, but it also has brains. If you have trouble adapting to new technology, refer to one of the numerous free video tutorials on the StyleScope AE training page.

14. Tableau Public

Tableau Public is business intelligence tool creator Tableau’s free offering. The program’s accessibility is a strong feature, with the ability to share visualizations via email or social media and the option to connect to Google Sheets.

Tableau Public can import and understand data from Excel and Azure, and also CSV files.

A Tableau dashboard (Source)

Tableau also offers a free version of Tableau Reader, if all you want to do is look at Tableau visualizations, rather than make them.

A visualization accessible with Tableau Reader (Source)

15. Zoho Reports

Zoho’s business intelligence program, Zoho Reports, offers a free version that supports two users. The free version also offers unlimited reports and dashboards, as well as cloud storage.

There’s no limit on the size of a file in Zoho’s cloud storage, but there is a limit on the number of rows (10,000).

A Zoho Reports dashboard (Source)

Answer 1

open source business intelligence (OSBI)

Can be treated as free business intelligence software. The main business strategy of this software is not to sell the conventional software licenses but they earn their revenue with the help of support, documentation, and code made for special purposes. There are a number of corporate users and millions of individual users who utilize these services free of cost. There are a number of Open sources business intelligence. The major functions which are supported by the Open source BI code are reporting, online analytical processing and data mining along with the customized services such as dashboards, data integration, and data profiling.

There is a number of service providers of Open source BI such as BIRT, Jaspersoft Community, Konstanz Information Miner, Pentaho Business Analytics and so on. All of these platforms are well versed and handle the different services and features provided to the customers or users. These service providers provide free space, Excel spreadsheets, Tableau dashboard and so on. The main reasons for the popularity of these platforms are the affordability, free source, easy operations, and customization whenever it is required. There are some limitations of these platforms as not all codes are readable and useable by the users. There could be a requirement for someone who is able to read and interpret these codes. This problem can be resolved by joining the different user community who can help the other users in handling the various issues. There is a number of languages which can be operated in these platforms.